(Following interview ①) Director Park Jun-hwa, who directed Perfect Crown, apologized for the acting controversies surrounding the two lead actors Byeon Woo-seok and IU.
Park Jun-hwa, who directed the MBC Friday-Saturday drama Perfect Crown (abbreviated as Perfect Crown), held an interview at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 19th. At the event, he spoke with domestic reporters about the recently concluded drama Perfect Crown.
Perfect Crown is a drama that depicts a status-breaking romance about a woman who has everything as a chaebol in 21st-century constitutional monarchy Korea but is annoyingly of commoner status, and a sad man who is the king's son but cannot have anything, as they forge their destinies. Initially, the drama raised expectations with Byeon Woo-seok, who created a sensation in Lovely Runner, playing the male lead Prince Ian, and singer-actor IU, who was praised for When Life Gives You Tangerines, playing the female lead Seong Hee-ju. In response, the 12th episode (final episode) broadcast on the 16th recorded its highest-ever rating of 13.8% (Nielsen Korea nationwide household basis) and concluded.
However, controversy over historical distortion erupted in the 11th episode broadcast on the 15th, just before the finale. In a coronation scene, Prince Ian wore the gu-ryu men-ryu crown, the headgear of a vassal state, and chanted 'cheonse', which became the pretext. As part of China's Northeast Project, which claims Joseon as its vassal state, the coronation scene in Perfect Crown was appropriated, sparking controversy over historical distortion. On the 18th, the drama's two leads, Byeon Woo-seok and IU, each issued apology statements.
Regarding this, Park Jun-hwa said, "All I feel is sorry for the actors. I wanted to give viewers excitement, joy and brightness, so I spent a lot of time thinking about that. They were friends who worked very hard. We worried together. In that process, I'm sorry that there were historical interpretation issues and misunderstandings and hurts that they did not cause. To be honest, at a moment when I should have been saying they worked hard after the final broadcast, all I felt was sorry. There was this controversy, we could not hide flaws, and I am the most experienced person in this drama, so I should have thought more and checked more intensely. I wonder why I made that decision at that moment; maybe I was too attached to the initial setting," he said.
Moreover, the two leads had been embroiled in acting controversies since the early episodes. Responses said IU's excessive emotional displays felt contrived, while Byeon Woo-seok was criticized for his overly restrained emotional expression, which made him seem robotic.
On this, Park Jun-hwa said, "At first, after reading the script I thought Hee-ju seemed very villainous. I thought it was a romance comic, and in the romance comics I had seen in the past the female lead tended to be submissive and dependent, but in this drama her assertive side was extreme. In some ways, the image of a woman who chases desire to this extent and insists on getting what she wants was strong. I thought Hee-ju's early appearance might seem to pass by the prince, but when such a person is about to enter into a contract marriage, I thought that desire should be expressed extremely."
He added, "Nevertheless, because there is a situation in the palace and the dramatic device of a contract marriage, I thought those parts might feel uncomfortable or harsh to viewers at times. So I discussed the direction with IU. I wanted this character, though a villain in some ways, to show a peculiar clumsiness and fidelity to her desires. What I requested was to emphasize and show the emotions expressed in each moment a little more. That way, while watching the drama the protagonist's feeling could be slightly caricatured, and otherwise it might feel suffocating."
He said, "In some ways, parts of me and my temperament changed into forms other than desire, and ultimately the things I coveted were expressions that wanted to be loved, and within the part that says it doesn't matter because you exist, I think Ji-eun's acting gave it a lot of strength in the early scenes. I think her effort may have diluted situations that could have been perceived as strong." He added, "On set I laughed a lot. I laughed and enjoyed it. In that respect, IU's acting was more three-dimensional than I had imagined. When I worked on past romance dramas, the main character's temperament was very strong. The strong parts can initially come across as uncomfortable, but every time his change was expressed in detail I thought the viewers' emotional shifts were maximized. So I think she delivered three-dimensional acting well."
Park Jun-hwa also said, "Byeon Woo-seok worked very hard on the prince. Watching the drama, I felt his efforts a lot. I often talked about that during filming. I said the higher the position, the less one reveals emotion. Because of his relationships, when there is a situation or something happens, I thought if he revealed a lot of emotion the weight would disappear. Even in the process of unfolding the character, I thought the initial lack of three-dimensionality could be represented by the reactions of Chief of Staff Choi Hyun (played by Yu Su-bin)."
He continued, "In the early story different feelings are expressed through Hee-ju, and I thought it would be better for the prince to show rational moments rather than be swung by Hee-ju. And when someone who didn't show emotion meets Hee-ju and begins to worry, to be impatient and anxious, when those moments appear I wondered whether more mutual feelings of excitement thinking of each other would arise in their relationship."
Above all, he said, "In the end, when I would choose to give up my position for Hee-ju, emotions would explode and I thought the prince's character could be better expressed. Watching Woo-seok, I saw he truly worked very hard. In fact, there were times I actually blocked adding more varied elements. I wanted his colors, the depth of his gaze, the sad look when he looks at someone, though not a perfect representation of the prince, to be more recognized for trying to contain a lot of sorrow."
(Continued in interview ③).<
[Photo] Provided by MBC.
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